Posts tagged as business

Funny videos on the internet come from a plethora of sources, from established internet studios to TV networks to independent comedians. But how do comedy production studios fund their internet comedy videos? There’s no simple answer. In fact, one of the first answers I heard was “Our funding comes from everywhere.”

However, as I talked to representatives from CollegeHumor, Funny or Die, Jash, Above Average, UCB Comedy, and Comedy Central, a lot of common themes came forward. Branded content funds more than you think. YouTube revenue funds less than you think. Comedy studios, like everyone else, earn money so they can fund passion projects. Incubating new talent is also a [...]

TBS now owns 10% of Funny or Die or as Adam McKay put it: "We're thrilled by our acquisition of Turner." The relationship will largely be about ad sales but also FoD will begin working with TBS and Adult Swim to create original programming. Remember when FoD was just that site you watched to see that baby curse a lot? Baby's all growns up now.

Last week, CollegeHumor unveiled "Fired," a 30 minute episode of their popular web series Jake and Amir. The episode was made available both as a $2.99 stream and a $13 DVD that also included outtakes, behind-the-scenes content, commentary, and 10 other Jake and Amir episodes.

I talked to Sam Reich, CollegeHumor's President of Original Content, about why they're trying this new model. "We have no plans to move entirely to the pay-per-view model. Advertising is our bread and butter," he told me. "That being said, we wanted to experiment with making something big and devoid of advertising, and the pay-per-view model was the only way we [...]

On the one hand, it'll be nice to have yet another way to stream TV shows and movies directly to our TVs. On the other, Sony's horribly-named Qriocity platform will probably never catch on enough to be relevant.

I’ve wanted to talk to you about this for years, but I’ve just been pushing it off. I don’t even know why I couldn’t do it. I guess I was just scared of what you would do. How you would react. What you’d tell your friends. And I mean, it’s not like I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to be a part of my life. I didn’t do it because I wanted to protect you from the truth. And I know that was selfish— because I literally owe everything to you. But I’m sick of living in the darkness [...]

Jeez, the Onion's editorial staff is really leaving New York. Well, uh, five out of the sixteen of them are. This story has the details of who's staying (Joe Randazzo, Joe Garden, Baratunde Thurston) and who's going (Seth Riess, Will Tracy), as well as the story of the holdouts' failed efforts to find a buyer for the paper who would let them stay in New York. The move may eventually end up being a return to the paper's Midwestern roots, and a boost for the Chicago comedy scene, but right now tearing this staff apart seems like it's gotta result in a big loss of quality. [...]

In this weekend's New York Times Magazine, there's a lengthy profile of Peter Principato, manager and discoverer of such people as Jonah Hill, Rob Riggle, David Wain, Will Arnett and Rob Corddry. It's a fascinating look into the deal-making side of the comedy business in Hollywood, including a peek inside a pitch meeting with the three guys from UCB LA improv favorites Convoy.

“Lori, you’ll be missed! Who am I going to high-five when the Molson Files are done every Wednesday??? HA!” – Linda, Billing

“Seems like just yesterday you sat down across from me at your cubicle, ready to start in the high-stakes world of Customer Service. Look at you now! Big time! Congrats on the promotion and don’t forget about us little people!” –Barb, Customer Service

“Way to go!” –Dennis, Maintenance

“Sad to see you go! (But not sad for the going away party! We love cake, and don’t you know it! Of course you do! Karen’s 45th birthday ring a bell??? )” – [...]

Everyone's doing it! C.K., Gaffigan, and now Ansari. As you can learn in this helpful video, Aziz Ansari is selling his new standup special "Dangerously Delicious" for $5 on his website. You gotta wonder what Harris and Darwish think of this newfangled publishing technique. And then you gotta buy the special to find out.

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